Chatting with Ben Blaque: Weapon Master of 'The Illusionists' Special

Greenvale
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"Weapon Master" Ben Blaque sat down and chatted with me on June 1 prior to his "Illusionists" show at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Greenvale, New York.

"It's a beautiful area, and this campus is very beautiful as well, so it's very welcome here," he said about the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts. "Tonight you can expect a typical, amazing-packed show of The Illusions. There are seven of us on stage, and we've brought our very best acts. Everybody's signature pieces are in this show."

Blaque is a native of Springfield, Missouri, and he just won the 2017 Merlin award for "Best Variety Act," which was quite the thrill. "That was very exciting for me. 10 years ago, I watched my mentor, Kirby VanBurch, win a couple of them, and I was just a stage crew back then. That was cool since it made me think of the time that he won them," he said. "They came all the way to Denver and presented it to me at the end of the show, so it was a great moment. It really is the Academy Award of magic, I was honored to have it, and I can't wait to get a cool case to display it in my house."

This milestone is quite impressive since Blaque is the sole crossbow act in the world to win a Merlin award. Speaking of crossbow, Blaque is working on a new demonstration that involves him hanging up upside down in a straitjacket. "It is one of the most difficult things I've ever done," he admitted. "It is fun and scary for me, but I'm doing something nobody else does."

On his plans for the future, Blaque said, "I'm working on my own show. I'm trying to get a show together with one more person."

Digital Journal reviewed The Illusionists at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts.

For his fans, he concluded, "Anybody that really wants to see the show that hasn't, I hope to get to their area at some point."

To learn more about weapon master and 2017 Merlin winner Ben Blaque, check out his official website.